Heaven or Hell?

INSTRUCTIONS: Choose below what you think is necessary to get to Heaven.

Obey God’s laws and commandments.

Be sorry for your sins, and confess your sins.

Sincerely do your best.

Turn from your sins and stop sinning.

Do good deeds.

Give money to church or charity.

Water baptism or Holy communion.

Trust in Jesus Christ alone as your personal Savior.

Trust in Jesus Christ as your Savior, and also serve Him.

There is no Heaven or Hell.

Answers: (Taken from the Bible)

No. 1: Trying to keep the commandments cannot save us but shows we are sinners:

“For whosoever shall keep the whole law, and yet offend in one point, he is guilty of all.” James 2:10

No. 2: Being sorry for your sins, or confessing your sins cannot take away sin. The Bible says the penalty of sin is death. We all die physically, but we also deserve to die spiritually by spending eternity in Hell.

“For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.” Romans 6:23

No. 3,4: Doing your best is commendable. To turn from your sins and stop sinning is also very desirable (yet impossible). Will doing these things make you perfect? No. Heaven is a perfect place and you must be perfect to enter. The Bible says:

“And there shall in no wise enter into it (Heaven) any thing that defileth, neither whatsoever worketh abomination, or maketh a lie: but they which are written in the Lamb’s book of life.” Revelation 21:27

No. 5,6: No deeds, charity, contributions to churches, nor any good work by you, can take away your sins or save you. The Bible says:

“For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast.” Ephesians 2:8,9

No. 7: Water baptism and communion cannot pay for sins. They are for those who are already saved.

“Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy He saved us:..” Titus 3:5a

So far it sounds quite bad: we are all sinners; we all deserve to go to Hell; Heaven is a perfect place; nothing we do can make us perfect. How then can we go to Heaven? The answer is found in God’s Word:

“For He (God) hath made Him (Christ) to be sin for us, Who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in Him.” 2 Corinthians 5:21

Jesus Christ died on the cross and rose from the dead to pay for all of our sins. He died FOR us. Only through Him can we have eternal life.

What then must you do to go to Heaven?

No. 8: Correct! By trusting in Jesus Christ as the one who died for your sins, you will receive everlasting life. Even though you may die physically, your soul will live forever in Heaven. Jesus Christ said:

“For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” John 3:16

The moment you trust Jesus Christ as your Savior, your sins will be forgiven, and you will receive God’s righteousness (perfection). This allows you to enter Heaven.

“And by Him (Christ) all that believe are justified from all things, from which ye could not be justified by the law of Moses.” Acts 13:39

No. 9: Incorrect! You can do nothing to add to the finished work of Christ. By doing so, you are not trusting in Christ alone as your Savior but only as your helper. You cannot go to Heaven that way. You must completely forget about your good works and commitments as a means of saving you, and put your trust ONLY in the Savior – Jesus Christ.

“But to him that worketh not, but believeth on Him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness.” Romans 4:5

Trusting Jesus Christ as your personal Savior is a one time decision in your life. The moment you believe in Christ, God will give you eternal life. Once you have believed, God accepts you as His child.

“But as many as received Him, to them gave He power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on His name.” John 1:12

God may discipline you when you disobey, but He will never cast you out of His family. You have eternal life which is secure. You can never lose it, neither can you forfeit it. God’s unconditional promise is that He will never take it away from you:

“And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of My hand.” John 10:28

This is called eternal security. Serving the Lord is important, once you are saved. It brings God’s blessings and joy to your life. But if relied upon to get you to Heaven, it will not work. Salvation is ONLY by faith in Jesus Christ.

No. 10: Friend, I cannot make you believe in Heaven or Hell. Maybe you don’t believe in it because you can’t see it. But neither can you see the air you breathe, yet without it you would die. Heaven is real! Hell is real! Why not investigate God’s Word?

“He that believeth on Him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.”

John 3:18

Right now, why not trust Jesus Christ as your Savior. He will save you for all eternity. You can also have the assurance that your sins are forgiven (past, present, and future). God has said it, and He cannot lie.

“These things have I written unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God; that ye may KNOW that ye have eternal life…” 1 John 5:13

Jesus said:

“All that the Father giveth Me shall come to Me; and him that cometh to Me I will in no wise cast out. And this is the Father’s will which hath sent Me, that of all which He hath given Me I should lose nothing, but should raise it up again at the last day.” John 6:37,39